The message came late at night.
Luv had been sitting in his room, the only light coming from his laptop screen, when Ayu's words appeared. Her sentences were hurried, almost shaky, not like her usual calm self. She wrote about a mission she'd stumbled upon, about a missing child tied to one of the most powerful gangs in the world, about someone hacking her and threatening her life.
Luv read every line twice. His eyes stayed fixed on the screen, but inside him, something stirred—something he hadn't felt in years.
Fear.
Not for himself. For her.
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. "So… she's been dragged into it too."
For years, he had promised himself not to get close to anyone. After all, closeness led to betrayal, and betrayal led to scars. That was the lesson burned into him by every so-called friend, every cruel voice, every greedy hand that had used him. Seclusion had been his shield, his way to survive and rebuild.
But Ayu had slipped past those walls.
She was just a name on a screen, just words he read in the glow of midnight, and yet—she understood him. She dreamed the same dreams, carried the same wounds, and spoke with the same fire. Every conversation they'd had left him feeling less like a shadow and more like a person again.
Now someone had threatened her.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but he didn't type right away. Instead, he closed his eyes. His mind pulled him back to the years of solitude—hours spent training until his muscles screamed, nights spent reading and studying until his eyes burned. He had reshaped himself to endure anything.
And for the first time, he felt glad he had.
Because now, he could use that strength for someone else.
He opened his eyes and began typing.
Luv: Don't be afraid. You're not alone in this.
A pause. Then, more words spilled onto the screen.
Luv: I'll protect you. No matter who comes, no matter how many. We'll face them together.
For a long moment, there was no reply. The cursor blinked, patient, waiting.
Then Ayu's response appeared.
Ayu: …You really mean that? Even if this is dangerous?
A faint smile touched Luv's lips.
Luv: Especially because it's dangerous.
Another silence stretched out between them, but this time it was different—he could almost feel her heartbeat across the distance, steadying against his words.
Finally, she typed back.
Ayu: Then let's meet. Not someday. Soon.
Luv's breath stilled. Meeting her meant stepping out of the safety of shadows. It meant revealing himself, facing the world he had avoided for so long. Part of him hesitated, a whisper of his old self clinging to the dark.
But when he imagined her facing that threat alone, the hesitation vanished.
Luv: Tell me your city. I'll come.
Her reply came within seconds, the name of her city lighting up his screen.
Luv stared at it, his pulse steady, calm. Tomorrow, his life would change. Tomorrow, he would step out from hiding—not for himself, but for her.
He closed the laptop, the room plunging into darkness.
And in that darkness, he whispered a promise only the walls could hear:
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Ayu. Not while I'm still breathing."